April 17, 2011
A. Meeting Location: Church chapel, CBCGB
B. Meeting Time: 1:30 - 3:00 pm, Sunday, April 17, 2011
C. Meeting Chair: elder Jack Hung
D. Meeting Invitees: open invitation to all church members, and to whom it may concern about church affairs and also can afford to join this meeting
E. Meeting Recorder: Patrick Lin
F. Meeting Agenda:
1. Opening prayer: led by pastor Caleb Chang, translated by pastor King-Fai Choi
2. On-board Sharing: pastor Caleb Chang
a. Appeal to congregations with God’s calling, and urge all of us to collectively pray for the vision led by our good and gracious Lord.
b. Use this theme “What will be the house of God in 25 years here?” to ask us all to reflect what God’s great commission applies to each one of individuals as well as a whole.
c. May God has mercy upon us, and may God Himself become our vision.
3. Min. Jennifer is taking care of mission preparation meeting with the youth ministry at youth chapel in basement and will be joining us shortly.
4. General ministry update (Please refer to elder Jack’s presentation file for details)
a. Pastoral update
i. Worship
ii. Sunday school
iii. Conference & training
b. Financial update
i. Offering
ii. Expenditure
c. Children’s ministry
i. Coworker
ii. Facility needs
iii. Parents communication
iv. Curriculum
5. Q&A - Section I
a. What direction our church is going to go with? We didn’t use all of our budget (well controlled). However, have we reached to our ministry goals?
Q: We can view our ministries in many aspects. God calls us here as a church to preach gospel. There are three baptisms and two evangelical meetings a year. From this evangelical aspect, we are making a good progress, not even mention about city out reach ministry yet. We all try to maximize all the opportunities to be the partnership of the gospel. MetroWest has already been independent, while MetroSouth is starting with church planting efforts. MetroWest’s new building project is going to be completed in this May or June. I would think we do reach to our goals for church planting over this area as well. Children ministry does bring us a big challenge after Kelvin declined our offer. This is ongoing demands and efforts for us to pay more focus on.
b. What is our capacity of our church sanctuary? What should we do to handle this situation, if we reached to our maximum capacity.
Q: 750 is our max capacity of the number of people sitting in the sanctuary. Indeed, it seems to reach to this ceiling already sometimes. I will keep this item and many other church facility related items to our 2nd sections and answer all together later.
6. Jen is back to our meeting at this moment. She gave her brief sharing. Please feel free to contact her in person and provide her any constructive feedback as you may have.
7. Special Project Update (Please refer to elder Jack’s presentation file again)
a. CBE(Church Building Expansion) project phase 1
i. 151 Old Spring St. (Please note that Old Spring Street has been officially renamed to Spring Street.)
ii. North entrance canopy
b. Bylaws revision
i. Revision committee sunset
ii. Ad-hoc committee forming
9. Q&A - Session II
a. Regarding to the sanctuary capacity, and worship services … jumped to the next question again.
b. CM Revival meeting will be held on our own facility this year. Will we continue on with this on-site meeting? Is there any possibility to go outside campus again?
Q: We will evaluate this again after this year’s meeting. The budget for having outside facility is costly. Also, both RWU & Gordon College campus were not available to us during that Memorial Day long weekend. We leased Stonehill College for two years, but our evaluation suggested that this facility is not as ideal as the other two. From financial and availability concerns, we will try to use our own church facility this year.
c. What is the relationship between us and Brookline Chinese Christian Church of New England?
Q: As I know all pastors among New England area used to gather together periodically. One of our elders, David Ho, is also invited to preach there occationally on Sunday. We don’t have other relationship with other churches. This church has been established even earlier than BCEC. The location and facility of this church is quite good. We do wish to have more collaborative efforts with them in the future in Christ.
d. Welcome new comers can be enthusiastic, we don’t need to wait until the end of all being introduced to clap our hands once only.
Q: We can consider about it.
e. Can we consider to call for seekers to accept Christ after worship services?
Q: Yes, we will consider about this, too.
f. Can we consider to use paper cups and plates as environmental friendly material?
Q: Edward’s answer is that paper is not greener than other material.
g. Do we have any plan to renovate church office building?
Q: We just remodeled our church office building, and created four more office spaces from the original garage space. Should we spend more money to expand our office building, or wait for all to reach a consensus and then work together on our “master plan”? May God give us wisdom to know what is the better plan for the future.
h. What is the objective to our Bylaws revision? What is the targeted date for this task? What is the status of the former “Bylaws Revision Committee”?
Q: The former Bylaws committee has been dissolved after they submitted final proposal. So far, church leadership has many meetings to discuss this, but not yet come out with a consensus. Our objective is for our church ministry to be operated more smoothly and efficiently under God’s providence and guidance. We will have a new ah-hoc team to study on this issue entirely. New targeted date is depending on the new ad-hoc committee. This committee is under forming process right now led by elder K.C.
10. Looking Forward (Please refer to elder Jack’s presentation file as well.)
a. Vision
i. Establish & strengthen church
ii. Minister to children, families, students, & scholars
iii. Evangelize even to the unreached people
iv. Serve community & have a heart for social concerns.
b. Challenge
i. How to do it well?
c. Sample Focus
i. MetroSouth ministry
ii. Continue with CBE follow-on phases
iii. Strengthen Children’s ministry
11. Sharing from pastor Caleb
a. Church “captured” should be restored in God’s plan.
b. Our Lord commanded us all to build up His kingdom.
c. What is our vision, mission, and strategy?
d. Many churches established here are more united in Christ, and should fight for His kingdom all together in the grater Boston area.
e. May we have this vision to share our resources with all other churches and humbly serve our Lord.
12. Q&A - Session III
Q: Let go back to some questions here. Especially, regarding to the possibility of having one extra worship services based upon the maximum capacity of our sanctuary has been reached. We are indeed starting to talk about possibility of setting up one more worship services, but there is no concrete plan yet.
b. Do we have a need to increase more pastoral or office staff members?
Q: We have new sr. pastor and junior high minister. We will look through it together among all ministries’ needs and keep a good balance with our financial plan. We definitely have tremendous needs to work together around many ministries with new staff members and some adjustment. If we need more coworkers to serve with our ministries, we definitely will think about that in the future.
c. What is the situation and latest status of church building expansion fund?
Q: First phase of CBE fund was to pledge 400k, which was dedicated 300k to the expansion plan and 100k to the main building. All fund pledged for the first phase was 190k, and actual received fund was 160k. We’ve spent 14k for 151 Spring st. already.
d. What will be the next step regarding to our master plan?
Q: We need to pray for what we should do next according to the master plan. It is indeed still under evaluation to the entire plan, which was proposed by many architects among us. It will take a longer term to finish this planning, evaluation of plans, execution of the staged plans completely. How do we prepare for ourselves according to many different needs in long term and how to utilize our existing facility in the short term should all become very critical and important. We’re running out of time, please contact us anytime for all your questions later.
2011年4月17日
一. 會議地點：本教會大堂。
二. 會議時間：2011年4月17日，星期日，下午1時30分 至3時。
三. 會議主持人：洪榮宗長老。
四. 與會者：公開邀請所有的教會成員，及關注教會事務、並可參加本次會議的人。
五. 會議記錄：林有洧。
六. 會議議程：
1. 會前禱告：由章開第牧師帶領，蔡景輝牧師翻譯。
2. 就職分享：章開第牧師。
1) 以上帝的呼召來呼籲會眾，並敦促全體聚集為異象來禱告，那異象是我們良善而恩慈的主所引導的。
2) 以“未來25年內，上帝的殿在此是何種狀況？”這個主題，要求我們全體反思神的大使命可應用在每一個個人及一個整體的是什麼？
3) 願上帝憐憫臨到我們，願上帝自己成為我們的異象。
3. 林珍妮傳道正與青少年事工同工在地下室青少年崇拜堂，籌備宣教準備會議，將很快地加入我們。
4. 一般事工近況（詳情請參閱洪長老的書面報告）
1) 教牧同工近況
i. 崇拜
ii. 主日學
iii. 會議及培訓
2) 財務近況
i. 奉獻
ii. 支出
3) 兒童事工
i. 同工
ii. 設備需要
iii. 家長的溝通
iv. 課程
5. 問與答－ 第一部份
1) 我們的教會未來方向是什麼？我們沒有使用我們所有的預算（有好的掌控）。總之，我們達到了我們的事工目標嗎？
答： 我們可以多方面查看我們的事工。上帝呼召我們在這裡成為教會，傳講福音。一年有三次洗禮和兩次佈道大會。從福音方面看，我們有良好的進展，甚至還有城市外 展事工。我們都儘量藉所有的機會來參與福音工作。 MetroWest已經獨立，而MetroSouth開始運籌植堂工作。MetroWest的全新建築將在今年5月或六月完成。我覺得我們在這個地區的植 堂工作已達到我們的目標。兒童事工在 Kelvin拒絕我們的提議後，的確給我們一個很大的挑戰，在這經常的需求及努力上，值得我們付出更多的關注。
2) 我們教會大堂的容納量是什麼？如果我們達到最高容量時，我們應該如何來處理這種情況。
答：我們大堂的最大容量是750個座位。事實上，事實上，有時它似乎已經達到這個上限。我將把這個一個問題和其他許多有關教會設施的問題，都放在第二部分，一併回答。
6. 林珍妮在此時回到我們的會議，給大家做簡短的分享。請隨時與她聯繫，或提供任何有建設性的回饋給她。
7. 特別計畫近況（請再參閱洪長老的書面報告）
1) CBE（教會擴建）計畫項目第一期
i. 151 Old Spring街（請注意，Old Spring街已正式更名為Spring街。）
2) 教會憲章的修訂
i. 修訂委員會落幕
ii.特設委員會成立
8. 問與答 - 第二部份
1) 關於大堂的容量和主日敬拜 ...，問題移到下一個部份。
2) 今年中文部培靈復興會將用我們自己的設施。我們會繼續這樣的就地會議嗎？是否有可能再到教會以外的場地？
答： 我們將在今年的會議之後，重新評估。由於使用外地設施的預算龐大，另外，在國殤日長週末，RWU和Gordon兩所學院都無法提供場地。我們與 Stonehill學院的租期是兩年，但據我們的評估表示，這個場地不如其他兩個理想，從財務和可用場地考量，我們今年將嘗試用我們自己的教會設施。
3) 我們與Brookline新英格蘭華人基督教會的關係是什麼？
答：據我所知所，所有新英格蘭地區的牧師常常在那裡定期聚會。我們的長老之一何明治，有時會被邀請擔任主日崇拜講員，我們與其他教會沒有其他關係，這座教堂的成立甚至早於BCEC，該教會位置和設施相當不錯。我們希望在未來和他們有更多在基督裡的合作同工。
4) 歡迎新人可熱情些，我們不必等到最後才介紹，並一次地鼓掌歡迎所有的新人。
答：我們可以考量這建議。
5) 我們可以考慮在崇拜後呼召慕道友接受基督嗎？
答：我們也會考量這建議。
6) 我們可以考慮使用紙杯、紙盤等響應環保的材料嗎？
答：談秉遜的回答是，紙製品不見得比其他的材質更助綠化。
7) 我們是否有計劃翻修教會辦公室？
答：我們才剛重新裝修了教會辦公室，並用原來的車庫空間，另創造出四個辦公室。我們是否應該花更多的錢去擴大我們的辦公室，或等待所有的共識達成，然後共同努力於我們的“總體規劃”？求上帝給我們智慧，知道如何能更好地規劃未來。
8) 我們憲章修訂的目標是什麼？這項任務預定在什麼時日完成？前“憲章修訂委員會”是處於何種狀態？
答： 前憲章委員會在他們提交的最後建議後，已經解散。到目前為止，教會領導人舉行了多次會議討論該事，但還沒有理出共識。我們的目標，是使我們的教會事工在神 的供應和引導下，能運作地更加順利和有效。我們將有一個新的特設委員會，把問題作整體研究。新的預定日期要根據新的特設委員會而定。該委員會的運作成立， 目前由朱克潔長老籌備中。
9. 展望未來（也請參閱洪長老的書面資料。）
1) 異象
i. 教會的建立與加強。
ii. 對兒童、家庭、學生、及學者的事工。
iii. 到未得福音之民處去傳福音。
iv. 服務社區和有心投注社會關懷。
2) 挑戰。
i. 怎麼做好呢？
3) 焦點的舉例
i. 大南區事工
ii. 繼續與教會擴建小組的後續階段
iii. 加強兒童事工
10. 章開第牧師分享
1) 教會“現有的”應該在神的計劃裡恢復。
2) 我們的主吩咐我們大家一同建造祂的國。
3) 什麼是我們的理想、使命和策略？
4) 許多在本地建立了教會，在基督裡更加團結，並應在大波士頓地區，為祂的國更同心奮鬥。
5) 讓我們有這個異象，與其他的教會分享我們的資源，並謙卑地服事我們的主。
11. 問與答 - 第三部份
1) 讓我們回到前面的一些問題。特別是關於我們大堂的崇拜已達最大容量，是否可能再加一場崇拜。我們的確是開始討論到加設一場崇拜的可能性，但還沒有具體計劃。
2) 我們是否一定需要增加更多的教牧同工或辦公室職員？
答：我們有新的主任牧師和青少年傳道。我們將一起藉此看各事工的需求，並與我們的財務計劃保持良好的平衡。我們絕對有極大的需求，要新進人員與周遭許多事工共同合作，並作新的調整。若我們需要更多的同事共同參與我們的事工，我們未來一定會考量。
3) 教堂擴建基金最新的情況和處境？
答：第一階段教會擴建基金預定認獻40萬，其中30萬是擴建計劃，10萬是主要建築。目前第一個階段，所有的認獻金額為19萬，而實際收到的是16萬。我們已經花了14萬整建Spring 街151號。
4) 據我們的主體主畫，下一個步驟是什麼？
答： 我們需要禱告，明白我們應該如何按照總體規劃做下一步，其實整個計劃仍在評估中，該計劃是由我們中間很多建築師建構的。它將需要長的時間來完成這計畫、評 估計畫、完全地執行預期的計畫。我們如何根據許多不同的長期需求，為自己打點，並如何在短期內利用我們現有的設施，都是關鍵和重要的事。我們的時間不多 了，請於會後隨時聯繫我們有關您所有的問題。